The Lord’s Prayer - notes to aid understanding - Anglican

1 The Lord s Prayer - notes to aid understandingFor all Christians, praying is very important, because it makes their relationship with God stronger,and they believe it changes them and the world in which they is much more than giving God a list of things you want him to do, although sometimes it canbe like that. It is more to do with spending time enjoying God's company, a bit like you would dowith a friend. Asking questions, talking about your family and friends, wondering about the future,saying sorry, saying thank-you, listening to what they have to say, not worrying about silence, justglad to be with disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.

2 Matthew 6:5-14 records what Jesus said. First, Jesus teaches what not to do:v5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in thesynagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have receivedtheir reward in full. v7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heardbecause of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father in heaven knows what you needbefore you ask him. CONSIDER: What does Jesus say not to do when praying?

3 Don t put on a show or an act, don t pretend. CONSIDER: Why ask God for things when he already knows what you want?A parent of a child will sometimes know what their son or daughter needs, but they will getthat child to actually ask nicely for it first. So by asking God for things in Prayer , it teaches usto respect God and to see Him as our Heavenly Father. Also God is a loving father who givesus what we NEED, not necessarily what we WANT. Jesus teaches how to pray:v6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.

4 CONSIDER: Should we only pray alone?Jesus is not saying that praying with others is wrong, but you need to be able to pray on yourown (private Prayer ) as well as praying with others (public Prayer ). Christians can pray atany time and anywhere that gives them space on their own. A lot of people find a quiet roomin their home. Some people pray in their bedroom. Others might pray when they walk thedog, or when they are travelling to school or work! You don't have to pray out loud, you canpray in your mind, or just be quiet and Jesus gives disciples an example of a Prayer .

5 The Lord s Prayer should be understood as an example, a pattern, of how to pray. It gives us the ingredients that should go into Prayer . The first parts of the Prayer are concerning God and the glory of God and the next part deals withour needs. Only when God has been given his proper place will all other things fall into their properplaces. Our Father Use of the word our instead of my shows us that Prayer should not to be selfish. It also remindsus that we are part of God s family - others are our brothers and sisters because God is their fathertoo.

6 We should treat all others like family members. The word Father also teaches us that weshould pray to god [the Father]. The parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-32) shows us the kind ofloving father God is. Like a loving father, God listens to our prayers and always gives his , this may not always be exactly what we want - sometimes a loving parent even has touse the word no!who art in heavenWe should not think of God being in a far away place because God is everywhere. Acts 17:27-28reminds us ..he is not far from each one of us.

7 For in him we live and move and have This line of the Prayer reminds to acknowledge God s sovereignty over the universe. hallowed be thy name Hallowed means holy . Keeping God s name holy means that he should be honoured and respectedand admired for who he is and what he has done. Hallowed be your name is telling us to worshipGod and to praise Him for who He is. We should begin our prayers with worship to god because heis so worthy of kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heavenGod is King so he has a kingdom. God is a fair, loving king.

8 By saying thy kingdom come we aresaying Be my king , so we are asking for help to act, talk and think the way God wants us to. Weare praying for the advancement of God s kingdom and remembering the part we have to play for God s kingdom and for God s will to done is really surrendering to god , because his ruleand his plans are the best things for our lives. It is a reminder to us that we are to pray for God splan in our lives and the world, not our own plan. We are to pray for God s will to be done, not forour heaven everyone submits to god that is why it is heaven there is no selfishness, no cruelty,no lies but plenty of love, peace and happiness.

9 Give us this day our daily bread Daily bread symbolises everything we need for our life, for that day. It is not demanding that Godgives us food but reminds us not to take for granted everything we have but it is agreeing that Godis the one who gives us life and sustains us each day we depend on God for daily physical andspiritual us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us We need to ask God to forgive us our sins - that is all the wrong things we have done - this includesour actions, our thoughts and what we have said. We have to be sincere in saying sorry to god butwe must forgive others too.

10 We should not keep something like being hurt by someone else a secret instead we should tell God - and after we talk about it God will help us forgive those who hurt teaches that if we don t forgive others then God will not forgive us. (v15) and lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evilThis part of the Prayer is asking about God for protection so that we will be able to stand against allthe bad influences in the world, we will be able to achieve victory over sin. Feeling angry, afraid orlonely can make us want to break a rule, that is temptation.